President Donald Trump said this Friday (27) that the US could end up taking Cuba in a “friendly” way. The statement was made to journalists at the White House before the president embarked on a rally in Texas.
Trump’s speech comes amid the energy and economic crisis affecting the communist island and recent tensions between Washington and the Havana regime.
“They don’t have anything right now (about agreeing negotiations), but they are talking to us, and maybe we can have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We can end up with a friendly takeover of Cuba after many, many years,” Trump said. According to him, the island has “serious problems” and the United States could do something “very positive” for both Cubans living in the country and those in exile.
“As you know, (Cuba) doesn’t have money, doesn’t have oil, doesn’t have food. Right now it’s a nation in serious trouble and they want our help,” he said, adding that Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, “is managing” the issue.
The statements come days after the White House warned Havana of the need to implement “drastic changes soon”. On the 18th, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that the island has “a regime in collapse” that “is disintegrating”.
Recently, the US has tightened its blockade policies against Cuba. The Trump administration created an additional tariff mechanism for countries that supply oil or oil products to the island, with the aim of restricting the flow of energy to the communist country. This week, however, the American government partially eased the blockade, authorizing the re-export of Venezuelan oil to Cuba through the private sector, but with restrictions.
This Friday, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) expressed support for Cuba in the face of the crisis the country is facing and declared, in a statement, that it is willing to collaborate with the United States on “initiatives that benefit the Cuban people and preserve regional stability”.
